05 Sep 2026
Fresh questions are being asked about the company behind St Albans Sound Bites – the food and music festival cancelled earlier this year without any explanation.
When time was called on Pub in the Park last year, the founders announced a new event on September 10 2025, with early bird tickets available a few days later on September 12.
But according to records at Companies House, Sound Bites Events Ltd was only registered on October 17 2025, more than a month after the tickets went on sale.
This means there could not have been a contract between the events company and any ticketing platform when the tickets went on sale as the former did not exist at that time.
The sole shareholder of the company is Christopher Paul Hughes, with Stephen Michael Lane listed as a director. Accounts are not due until July 17 2027, although a confirmation statement confirming up-to-date information about the business is due by October 30 this year.
We spoke to a St Albans accountant – who asked to remain anonymous – to find out what this means for Sound Bites customers.
She explained: “What is unclear is who holds the contract with FIXR and Ticketek for the collection of funds and who is responsible for paying refunds.
“Sound Bites Events Ltd could not have held the original agreement with either platform as it was not yet a legal entity so does this make Christopher Hughes personally responsible for refunding ticket holders or is there another organisation to be held accountable for this?
“Christopher is listed as a director of 37 companies on Companies House (four active and 33 dissolved) and is now the sole director of Fest Holdings Limited (formerly Pub in the Park Festivals Limited).”
Tom Kerridge is stated as having resigned from this particular company on June 25 2025, well before the last St Albans Pub in the Park took place. Unlike previous years, he was not present over the course of the weekend.
It has also emerged that Sound Bites organisers did not contact St Albans district council about hosting the event at Verulamium Park until January. They were told this could not be considered while money was still outstanding from the associated Pub in the Park event. The council did not hear from them again.
As a result, no venue was ever confirmed, despite ongoing publicity for the event over the past few months.
The accountant added: “Interestingly, the last filed accounts with Companies House for Fest Holdings Limited dated October 31 2024 shows debtors of £400K and creditors of over £4.5m. The filing of the latest set of accounts and confirmation statement is overdue. So the question is, who should Sound Bites ticket holders be chasing for their refunds?”
A clause on the Sound Bites website states: “The Organisers reserve the right to alter or vary the content or timing of the whole or any part of the Show due to circumstances beyond our reasonable control without being obliged to refund or exchange tickets.”
Whether this goes so far as to include the cancellation of the entire event is open to interpretation.
Customers who paid ticket protection for the event have discovered that it specifically excluded cancellation, abandonment, postponement, curtailment, or relocation by the organiser/promoter.
Meanwhile, the organisers of the St Albans Beer and Cider Festival have stepped in to offer a special deal to Sound Bites customers.
Anyone still awaiting a refund from the cancelled event will be offered free admission to the Alban Arena for the beer festival on September 23-26.
St Albans Beer and Cider Festival organiser John Tubridy said:
“We know how frustrating and upsetting it is to book tickets for something you’’re looking forward to, only to be let down and left chasing a refund.
“We can’t get anyone’s money back from Sound Bites, but we can offer something in its place: a warm welcome, a great atmosphere, and a proper St Albans day or evening out.
While our vast range of drinks is key to what we do, our event is so much more than just a traditional beer festival these days. Alongside 300-plus real ales, craft beers, lagers, ciders and perries, we’ve also got incredible street food, excellent live bands, interactive games, and more, with something for everyone.
“As well as beer and cider, our drinks options also include wines, spirits, cocktails, soft drinks and zero-alcohol choices.”
“We’re a smaller event than Sound Bites was meant to be, but bigger isn’t always better! Now in our 29th year, we can be relied on to deliver the kind of event St Albans deserves.”
How to claim
- Anyone who bought a ticket for Sound Bites and is still waiting for a refund can claim free admission to St Albans Beer and Cider Festival by:
- Emailing proof of purchase of their Sound Bites ticket(s) to publicity@stalbansbf.org.uk
- Confirming which day of the week they would like to attend this year’s St Albans Beer and Cider Festival — Wednesday, Thursday, Friday or Saturday.
- St Albans Beer &and Cider Festival will then issue the same number of free admission-only tickets for that day.
Tickets that will be issued cover admission only; souvenir glasses and drinks tokens can be purchased on arrival in the usual way.
Due to licensing restrictions, children are only permitted at the festival up until 5pm each day, after which it becomes an 18+ only event.
Dogs (with the exception of guide/assistance dogs) are only permitted in the foyer and outdoor areas of the festival.
Full terms and conditions can be found at stalbansbf.org.uk/soundbites
